The lightning is awesome, except the embarrassingly bad infotainment system.

[Sleepa]

Obviously I know this truck is less “tech-y” than a tesla, but dang you’d think a vehicle that relies so heavily on the infotainment system would have a little better quality and better refresh rate than what feels like 10-15hz.

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[davehu]

huh? have had my truck for a year. Have no idea what your complaining about.

 

[Scorpio3d]

Obviously I know this truck is less “tech-y” than a tesla, but dang you’d think a vehicle that relies so heavily on the infotainment system would have a little better quality and better refresh rate than what feels like 10-15hz.

I mean we’re getting karaoke what do you want?

 

[priceb]

There are much worse infotainment systems out there.

 

[Eboss]

Yeah, the Lightning software is awful. Anyone who also owns a Tesla will agree.

The navigation shows you where all the gas stations are. Telling, and how embarrassing.

Why can't I send a destination from my phone? Why can't I get a real time location? My kids laugh when I try to add a destination with vioce commands. Options show up in a list but not on the map. Useless.

Why does it take so long to boot up every time? (10 seconds). Why do we have to turn it on and off? Why don't the windows work when it is "off" and someone opens the door? Why does phone as a key work only most of the time? My wife now only carries the monster key fob in fear of getting locked out again. Old ICE mentality.

Navigating to a DC fast charger? Total gamble unless you've been there before. How do you pre-heat the battery for fast charging? It doesn't matter because the fast charging isn't fast.

OTA updates? Kareokee is the biggest one? What a joke.

Tesla is iPhone 16, Ford is like a flip phone.

Oh well, it is a good truck, not a great electric vehicle. I got a good deal on it. I wish the dealer could figure out why the service engine soon light keeps coming on.

 

[luebri]

There are much worse infotainment systems out there.

A million % this. I came from a 2017 Nissan Titan SL (which I loved) but their infotainment was on the horrible side of bad. If I came from Tesla the Lightning would be a dramatically harder pill to swallow Im sure.

 

[Mach Turtle]

I'd rate the system as OK but unimpressive. My wife seems to consider it somewhat bad, but she's been spoiled by the better system in....our Mach-E. We do use 'Droid Auto, ABRP, Plugshare, etc. rather than the built-in navigation system*, and we gave up on Phone as a Key years ago. Lower expectations FTW. Also, we like down-to-Earth features such as the air vents and gloveboxes which you can operate with hands rather than using Tesla's system of voice or touchscreen commands.

No disagreement with those who say that Ford can and should do better.

* We probably get away with not using built-in navigation because we live in California and seldom drive in cold weather, thus don't depend so much on preconditioning. A company based in Detroit really ought to get preconditioning for cold weather trips and charging right. Why are departure times or chargers as destinations the only options, without a "precondition now" button? Or am I missing something?

 

[21st Century Truck]

Yeah, the Lightning software is awful. Anyone who also owns a Tesla will agree.

The navigation shows you where all the gas stations are. Telling, and how embarrassing.

Why can't I send a destination from my phone? Why can't I get a real time location? My kids laugh when I try to add a destination with vioce commands. Options show up in a list but not on the map. Useless.

Why does it take so long to boot up every time? (10 seconds). Why do we have to turn it on and off? Why don't the windows work when it is "off" and someone opens the door? Why does phone as a key work only most of the time? My wife now only carries the monster key fob in fear of getting locked out again. Old ICE mentality.

Navigating to a DC fast charger? Total gamble unless you've been there before. How do you pre-heat the battery for fast charging? It doesn't matter because the fast charging isn't fast.

OTA updates? Kareokee is the biggest one? What a joke.

Tesla is iPhone 16, Ford is like a flip phone.

Oh well, it is a good truck, not a great electric vehicle. I got a good deal on it. I wish the dealer could figure out why the service engine soon light keeps coming on.

"...monster fob..."?

 

[neeonline]

There are much worse infotainment systems out there.

There are way better infotainment systems out there.

 

[LightningB514]

Yeah, the Lightning software is awful. Anyone who also owns a Tesla will agree.

The navigation shows you where all the gas stations are. Telling, and how embarrassing.

Why can't I send a destination from my phone? Why can't I get a real time location? My kids laugh when I try to add a destination with vioce commands. Options show up in a list but not on the map. Useless.

Why does it take so long to boot up every time? (10 seconds). Why do we have to turn it on and off? Why don't the windows work when it is "off" and someone opens the door? Why does phone as a key work only most of the time? My wife now only carries the monster key fob in fear of getting locked out again. Old ICE mentality.

Navigating to a DC fast charger? Total gamble unless you've been there before. How do you pre-heat the battery for fast charging? It doesn't matter because the fast charging isn't fast.

OTA updates? Kareokee is the biggest one? What a joke.

Tesla is iPhone 16, Ford is like a flip phone.

Oh well, it is a good truck, not a great electric vehicle. I got a good deal on it. I wish the dealer could figure out why the service engine soon light keeps coming on.

Dude, just use Apple CarPlay. Seems like your complaint has to do with navigation. I use Waze and it works great. I can even use Siri to set a destination on Waze.
Ironic that you say a Tesla is an iPhone 16 but yet iPhones don’t work on Tesla in the same way as Ford.
I don’t get the whole keep my car on at all times. That sounds so stupid. It’s a battery, if I’m not using it, it’s fine to turn off.
What if I go inside to grab something, I don’t want to car to turn on.
I know Tesla doesn’t have an on off button but I’m fine having to turn a car on and off like I have for years.
The PAAK does suck, so I get that.

 

[FreshDaddyE]

I'm sure it's awful, but I've spent less than 10 minutes ever looking at it. I get in, the iPhone connects, and before my seat belt is buckled I'm looking at Carplay.

 

[starrtech2000]

I wouldn’t care so much about how behind Tesla Rivian it is in responsiveness if it just wasn't so horribly buggy.
Mine:
randomly navigates to destinations I’ve never entered
Freezes the screen while using the backup camera
Disconnects wireless CarPlay and won’t connect through wired as a fallback. Usually requires a power cycle of the truck
Sometimes decides to not have audio through CarPlay
Disconnects my phone calls
Disconnects CarPlay at the same spot on the road every day
Sometimes just plays loud static through the speakers
Randomly goes to the Sirius channel 1 preview station
Randomly displays my Sirius presets as empty
Had the main dash die while driving out of a parking lot, requiring a fuse pull.

I want to take it into the dealer for service but I feel like they will just say that they can’t replicate it and do nothing. I have videos of it freezing a lot though so maybe they will have to do something.

 

[OtterJohn]

There are much worse infotainment systems out there.

Toyota...

 

[Scott P]

Obviously I know this truck is less “tech-y” than a tesla, but dang you’d think a vehicle that relies so heavily on the infotainment system would have a little better quality and better refresh rate than what feels like 10-15hz.

I think that part of the problem is the processor. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve driven around with the Ford logo Splash screen stuck at a 45° angle on the screen. Just sitting there. No access to anything and that crazy logo on its side until the infotainment system finally reboots itself somehow.

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